


Epilogue

by Android_And_Ale



Series: The Hero of Nova Herculania [8]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Countdown to the Hadrian Wells ex-boyfriend reunion tour, Earth 1 gets a much needed reminder that Vibe is a Big Damn Deal elsewhere, Invest in Vibe action figures!, Iris meets her doppleganger, M/M, STAR Labs, Team Flash's security is so bad you think they're actively inviting villains to pop in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 03:30:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13895310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Android_And_Ale/pseuds/Android_And_Ale
Summary: Earth VII's Inquisitor West stops by STAR Labs with a going away present for Vibe - and some information about his future.





	Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I had no idea the stand alone short story (chapter 1) would turn into a 22K novella. I hope you enjoyed Cisco getting a little action, a little angst, and a little appreciation for his mad engineering skills and sexy hair.

“I don’t know why we even come down here armed,” said Barry. “When’s the last time somebody bad actually breached in?” He wore red pajamas emblazoned with little yellow lightning bolts and a matching red and yellow balaclava to hide his face.

“Tuesday before last,” Iris replied. She braced herself on one knee, nightgown fluttering against her calves as she stared down the sights of her comically large rifle. She was still trying to figure out how to approach Cisco and Harry about overcompensation in the weapons department without the discussion devolving into them defending one another’s honor.  

“When the probe from the cyborg planet came looking for replacement organic parts.” Wally arrived a fraction of a second behind them, fully suited up in his yellow and black leather costume.

“Ha! The discount cybermen tried that on our world, too.” On the dias, Inquisitor West smiled proudly at her doppelganger. “Your Vibe said every version of me he meets has a good head on her shoulders. Glad to know he’s not burning my dung and calling it incense.”

The Inquisitor leaned against a quartet of crates, each one painted with Cisco’s heavily made up face half hidden behind an ebony sheet of hair.  “The legionnaires and I pooled our salt for a little going away present. She backed up a step, holding her arms up and out in case anyone wanted to frisk her.

Iris shrugged and put down her gun. Her doppleganger looked a little disappointed as Iris hopped up on the dias, Barry and Wally on her heels. After a few moments she folded her arms behind her back.

“What’s in the crates?” asked Wally.

Inquisitor West opened the nearest one’s lid. “Perfectus Capillum. This should be a two year supply of his favorite bath line.” She grinned and held up a finger. “Not his bestselling one. Anyone who’s met him in person knows he uses the cardamom and myrrh product line.” The massive crate contained four smaller boxes, one each of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and leave in conditioning treatment. Several smaller boxes rested on top with shaving soap, facial cleansers, and moisturizers.

Wally flipped a bottle open and took a deep breath. It smelled like Cisco. “Dang. You only brought enough for two years? Because I know he’s gonna miss this.”

The other three crates held Vibe swag ranging from energy drinks to Halloween costumes to branded makeup. One entire crate was full of action figures.

“Whoa! Professor Penance said Cisco was a celebrity, but I didn’t think he was this big a deal,” said Barry.

Inquisitor West laughed. “Fulgora’s as good at marketing tie-ins as she is at field strategy. Vibe’s been her best selling product for months.”

Iris pulled out a bottle of spray on cheek and hair glitter. “So why banish him?”

“Other than harboring a known criminal then breaking him out of prison?” Inquisitor West winked at her doppelganger. “He’s not the first person she’s punished for having lousy taste in men.” She sighed. “But between us, it was for his own good. He needed to commit to something. He wasn’t all in with Fulgora’s team, or with Hadrian Wells, or with his family abroad. She wanted him to know his own heart and embrace it before he completely incinerated himself trying to burn three wicks with no oil.”

“I’m glad he picked us,” said Barry.

“Me too.” Inquisitor Wells gave him a warm but melancholy smile. “Hadrian was a lousy influence on him. And as much as Vibe loved his training sessions, nothing lit him up like taking apart shiny confiscated tech. In his heart, he’s not a superhero. He’s a hot little engineer who happens to have powers.”

“He can be both,” said Wally.

Inquisitor Wells shrugged. “Maybe here? But not on my world." The corners of her lips ticked up into a small smile as she gently kicked the nearest crate. “Tell him not to worry about the cost. We’ve been stocking up since our magistrate approved Fulgora’s death-upon-capture warrant. Cisco’s not a killer. Even if the warrant wasn’t for Professor Penance, there’s no way he’d purposefully take a life.”

“We know.” Iris smiled proudly at her doppelganger, who nodded back in silent approval.

“Plus, now that Fulgora booted him offworld, all of this is selling at four to ten times retail. We’re getting a pretty nice Saturnalia bonus this year.”

Wally pulled a toga-clad action figure from the crate. “Look at this! It has hair you can brush!”

“Tell him to keep some of these in mint condition,” said the Inquisitor. “Domina Fulgora is in the third decade of her sequestership. The Vestals are already training the next lightning bearer for leadership, and I promise you, that girl has such a crush on Cisco that there’s no way she’ll uphold his banishment.”

“When you say lightning bearer…” Barry sped around the room in a scarlet blur. “Is that what you mean?”

Inquisitor West’s face wrinkled. She tried to smooth it over with a smile, or at least keep it neutral, but couldn’t hide her discomfort. “It’s ...sacrilegious for a man to have those powers. They’ve been passed down through the Vestals since the time of Prometheus.” She turned to Iris. “It’s a lot of responsibility for a man.”

“He’s not alone,” said Iris. “He’s part of a team.”

Inquisitor West cocked her head. She opened her mouth, then closed it tightly without speaking. This was not the hill she wanted to die on.   

“I barely remember the last lightning bearer. Domina Fulgora is,” her face lit up in admiration, “Amazing. But she’s been at it for twenty two years. Only eight more until her retirement.”

She kicked the side of a crate. “Remind your Cisco that during the first year of the new girl’s transition, the Vestals hear appeals for edicts issued under the previous Domina.” She pulled a different action figure from the box and smiled affectionately. “And if his pert little ass doesn’t breach into my office during the appeals I’ll hire a bounty breacher to drag him to the temple buck naked.”

She handed Iris the action figure. “Plus, eight years from now, once he wins the appeal, these things will be worth their weight in printer ink.”

Barry grinned at her. “That’s the most expensive fluid on our earth, too.”

She laughed. “The weirdest damn things end up multiversal constants.”  

She slid a hand into her jacket pocket, hesitated a moment, then pulled out a thumb drive shaped like an octopus tentacle. “I’ve heard what you call music. It’s, well, let’s say our worlds have very different tastes.” She held it out to Iris. “But one of our best up and coming young composers just completed his second opera. It’s translated into colloquial Britannica as well as Latin.” She chewed her bottom lip, smiling. “He dedicated it to his doppelganger.”

“I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“Don’t be a stranger!” Iris pulled a confiscated breach beacon from her pocket. “Eight years should be long enough for your Wells to get over his Hadrian related jealousy issues. He’s left a trail of Ramon shaped broken hearts. And remind Cisco banishment doesn’t mean forever. It’s just a cooling off period.”

She pushed the button, opening a breach to her own world. “I personally can’t wait for the Hadrian Wells ex-boyfriend reunion. Gonna bring an extra large popcorn for the day Vibe meets Reverb.” She winked broadly and jumped through the portal.

"Did she say _Reverb_?" asked Wally.

"Baby, just this once..." Iris pulled one of the action figures and a tiny comb from its box and meditatively ran it through the doll's hair. "If those two ever end up in a room together you have a hall pass to go back in time."

"Why?" Wally looked shocked.

"I don't know yet," said Iris, "But I guarantee we'll need to fix it." 

 


End file.
